My first Surround Master arrived this morning. I did not buy the earlier v1 release, so everything with this device is new to me. I am very happy with it. The Involve quadraphonic mode produces results that are different than DPLIIx Music and Lexicon Logic7 Music. It is definitely another arrow in my surround sound quiver. Here are my findings and how things sound to my ears on my system:
In general, I find the performance of all three aforementioned decoders to be dependent on program material; and I might prefer one over the others given the material. Involve produces a much more intimate sound stage than Logic7 Music; and somewhat more intimate than DPLIIx Music. There are certain songs where I find Involve to sound "tighter" than Logic7. For example, with The Hollies Long Cool Woman, Logic7 seems a bit too reverberant while Involve is in the Goldilocks zone. Logic7 makes a sonic mess of the Gin Blossoms Hey Jealousy. Involve is much better on that song...and probably that whole album.
However, on Roseanne Cash's The Wheel, the Involve sound stage seems a bit flat compared to Logic7. On this particular song, Logic7 sucks the background vocals from left-center and right-center and routes them to the sides and back. Also, three jazz recordings sampled (Getz/Gilberto, Dave Brubeck and Flim & The BBs) all sound best with Logic7. On these, DPLIIx and Involve sound good, but not as satisfying as Logic7.
On CSN&Y's Carry On, both DPLIIx and Logic7 pin the acoustic guitar introduction in the left-front speaker while Involve places it somewhat between the left-front and left-rear speakers and makes it sound bigger. While none of the three decoders present what I would call a kick-ass presentation due to the shortcomings of this recording, I'd say that Involve yields the best results as it sounds the most natural.
At times, I find that Involve brings out more detail in certain songs than DPLIIx and Logic7. I was not expecting this very significant benefit at all.
Often, I find the bass in DPLIIx to be underwhelming while Logic7 is occasionally overwhelming. I find bass with Involve to be more balanced and natural in most situations.
One can overdo Logic7 as it is a highly adjustable codec. Although rare, the results of overdoing it are artifacts or pumping especially with primitive stereo. I hear no artifacts with Involve whatsoever...even when juicing up the surrounds by as much as 7dB.
Now, onto something many of you are not going to like to hear. Routing the Involve derived quadraphonic signal through Logic7 to produce a 7.1 ambient sound field yields results that to my ears are truly prodigious. This combination eliminates the potential anomalies of Logic7...no overwhelming bass with certain recordings; no excessive ambience with certain recordings; and no artifacts or pumping with primitive stereo recordings. Yet the periodic revelation of extra detail by Involve remains. Also, the combination of Involve and Logic7 mitigates any perception of a comparatively flat sound stage on certain recordings with Involve deployed on its own.
Two songs that always piss me off because of the way they were recorded are the above mentioned Carry On and The Moody Blues' Ride My See Saw. Using Involve with the Logic7 overlay produces results that really open up these two songs and put them "in your face" for lack of a better term. So, oh crap...now I probably need to acquire a spare Lexicon processor with analog inputs because I can't live without this Involve/Logic7 combo.
I hope you fellow buyers like your new Surround Master as much as I like mine.
In general, I find the performance of all three aforementioned decoders to be dependent on program material; and I might prefer one over the others given the material. Involve produces a much more intimate sound stage than Logic7 Music; and somewhat more intimate than DPLIIx Music. There are certain songs where I find Involve to sound "tighter" than Logic7. For example, with The Hollies Long Cool Woman, Logic7 seems a bit too reverberant while Involve is in the Goldilocks zone. Logic7 makes a sonic mess of the Gin Blossoms Hey Jealousy. Involve is much better on that song...and probably that whole album.
However, on Roseanne Cash's The Wheel, the Involve sound stage seems a bit flat compared to Logic7. On this particular song, Logic7 sucks the background vocals from left-center and right-center and routes them to the sides and back. Also, three jazz recordings sampled (Getz/Gilberto, Dave Brubeck and Flim & The BBs) all sound best with Logic7. On these, DPLIIx and Involve sound good, but not as satisfying as Logic7.
On CSN&Y's Carry On, both DPLIIx and Logic7 pin the acoustic guitar introduction in the left-front speaker while Involve places it somewhat between the left-front and left-rear speakers and makes it sound bigger. While none of the three decoders present what I would call a kick-ass presentation due to the shortcomings of this recording, I'd say that Involve yields the best results as it sounds the most natural.
At times, I find that Involve brings out more detail in certain songs than DPLIIx and Logic7. I was not expecting this very significant benefit at all.
Often, I find the bass in DPLIIx to be underwhelming while Logic7 is occasionally overwhelming. I find bass with Involve to be more balanced and natural in most situations.
One can overdo Logic7 as it is a highly adjustable codec. Although rare, the results of overdoing it are artifacts or pumping especially with primitive stereo. I hear no artifacts with Involve whatsoever...even when juicing up the surrounds by as much as 7dB.
Now, onto something many of you are not going to like to hear. Routing the Involve derived quadraphonic signal through Logic7 to produce a 7.1 ambient sound field yields results that to my ears are truly prodigious. This combination eliminates the potential anomalies of Logic7...no overwhelming bass with certain recordings; no excessive ambience with certain recordings; and no artifacts or pumping with primitive stereo recordings. Yet the periodic revelation of extra detail by Involve remains. Also, the combination of Involve and Logic7 mitigates any perception of a comparatively flat sound stage on certain recordings with Involve deployed on its own.
Two songs that always piss me off because of the way they were recorded are the above mentioned Carry On and The Moody Blues' Ride My See Saw. Using Involve with the Logic7 overlay produces results that really open up these two songs and put them "in your face" for lack of a better term. So, oh crap...now I probably need to acquire a spare Lexicon processor with analog inputs because I can't live without this Involve/Logic7 combo.
I hope you fellow buyers like your new Surround Master as much as I like mine.